News March 2025
ICE visitation numbers break records Events
Te Barcelona editions of ICE and iGB Affiliate have ripped up the record books attracting a total of 59,101 unique attendees surpassing the previous high of 52,345 which was set in 2024 – the last editions to be held in London. Te ICE unique attendance of 50,019
represented an 11 per cent year-on-year uplift with iGB Affiliate recording a total of 9,082 unique visitors an increase of 24 per cent on the previous highest which was set 12-months ago. ICE and iGB Affiliate registered a total
visitation figure, which measures the number of person days spent at the Fira Gran Via Barcelona of 107,664 - another gambling industry world record. Nine nations recorded four figure
attendances with Spain topping the table
SNG continues Merkur legal fight Legislation
German operator Spielbanken Niedersachsen (SNG) has announced an appeal after the failure of its lawsuit against the loss of its licenses in Lower Saxony, saying it will ‘exhaust all legal options.’ Te Administrative Court of Hanover
confirmed the legality of the award of the casino concession to the Merkur Group. Merkur Spielbanken, based in neighbouring East Westphalia, emerged victorious from the award procedure carried out by the Lower Saxony Ministry of Finance. SNG’s MD, Max Rösle, said: “Our primary goal remains to secure the future of Lower Saxony’s
Court blocks Rio lottery offering Legislation
Brazil’s Federal Supreme Court (STF) has formed a majority to endorse the precautionary measure by Minister André Mendonça, which prohibited the State Lottery of Rio de Janeiro (Loterj) and the state of Rio de Janeiro from exploring lottery activities and electronic games outside its state territory and from licensing companies to operate in other locations. In a judgment conducted in a virtual plenary, ministers accepted the position of the Attorney
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casinos and the jobs associated with them. We remain firmly convinced that the award and the procedure for doing so did not meet the legal requirements of transparency and fairness.” SNG, who previously operated all ten casinos in the country, lost out in the latest tender in
General’s Office (AGU), arguing that by granting credentials to companies that enable them to operate nationally, Loterj is undermining Brazil’s federal pact and free competition, is disregarding the rules set by the Ministry of Finance, and is therefore encroaching on the Union’s authority by exploring lottery services throughout the national territory. In the injunction granted on January 2, in
addition to prohibiting Loterj from exploring lotteries outside the state of Rio de Janeiro, Minister André Mendonça also decided to suspend the effectiveness of the amendment to the
(8,954), followed by the UK (6,518), Malta (3,074), Cyprus (2,328), Ukraine (1,938), United States (1,730), Italy (1,496), Bulgaria (1,252) and Germany (1,157). Stuart Hunter, Managing Director Clarion
Gaming, said: “Te data has been interrogated by an independent registration body and reflects the number of unique attendees. I am delighted that the transition of ICE and iGB Affiliate to Barcelona has been so well-received by our international community of stakeholders.”
BOS requests Gambling Act amendment Legislation
BOS, the Swedish Trade Association for Online Gambling, has written to the Swedish Ministry of Finance with a request to amend the Gambling Act. It is currently legal for unlicensed gambling companies and their subcontractors to accept Swedish gambling consumers as long as the companies avoid using the Swedish language and Swedish currency.
Te loophole has led to a massive influx of unlicensed gambling offers into the Swedish gambling market.
November 2023. It claimed that the procedure had not been carried out properly. Te court ruled differently. Operation of the casinos should have been
transferred to the new license holder Merkur, the only applicant in the procedure besides the SNG, as early as September 2024. Due to the ongoing legal wrangling, SNG has been allowed to continue operating the venues so far. Te Ministry of Finance had granted it a transitional licence limited to a maximum of one year in order to ensure uninterrupted operation. Te once state-owned SNG has been the
operator of casinos in Lower Saxony since 1995. In 2005, the company was privatised, with Casinos Austria International from Austria becoming its owner.
licensing notice No. 1/2023, which softened the territorial oversight mechanisms for the exploration of lotteries in the form of fixed-odds sports betting. Te agency was required to demand that the
operators licensed by it utilise electronic geolocation mechanisms to ensure that bets are truly made only from Rio de Janeiro. Tis system must guarantee that bets originate solely from the state of Rio de Janeiro and block bets from other regions. Loterj has already announced that it would prevent bets made by licensed operators outside its state borders.
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